Everything will be better in the morning
by Tess84
Summary: This is another take on how Lorelai could have reacted when she found out about April... Let me know if you guys want more, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks to my new Beta, Katie, for her help! I don't own anything! The ratings for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**1 – Anywhere but here**

"_When'd you find out?"_

"_I just found out."_

"_Just? When just? She's in there filling salt shakers, it doesn't feel that new to me."_

"_Two months ago."_

"_Two months! That's a hell of a long time to go without telling me."_

"_I know I should have told you."_

"_Look, I need to digest this, and you have to get back inside so I'm just gonna go someplace where I can digest this and we will just talk more later, OK?"_

"_Sure, whenever you want."_

"_OK."_

"_I'm sorry."_

Lorelai replayed the words over and over in her head as she walked away from him, not sure where she was going, where this 'place to digest' was. The only thing she knew right now was that she could not be anywhere near him, or she might tell him how keeping this from her for two months made her feel. Mislead. Deceived. Lied to. Angry. Hurt.

Stupid, because she knew that there had been something going on. She knew it, but when she asked him and he told her everything was OK, she didn't push it, even though she didn't believe him.

Yes, he should have told her. But maybe she should have tried a little harder to find out what was really going on. She had been too wrapped up in the wedding plans, in Rory's return, in the inn, in everything **but** Luke over the past couple of months. She had figured that whatever it was that bothered him, he'd tell her when he wanted to talk. And boy, had he.

A daughter. Luke had a daughter. A twelve-year-old daughter. How had that happened? Well, of course she knew **how** it had happened...

She still couldn't grasp the concept, and she wasn't sure if she ever would. She just needed... time. Time to figure out what she thought about the situation, time to figure out how... what was her name? April, right, Luke had called her April. How April would fit into their lives, and, maybe the most important one of all, how this would affect her and Luke's life.

She just needed some time. Just like Luke had last year.

Realizing she was in front of her house, Lorelai unlocked the front door and immediately headed upstairs. She got a sports bag out from her closet, and started throwing clothes into it, not even looking at the things she was packing. She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, or the day after that. She didn't even know if she and Luke would make it through this thing. But she did know that she needed time to think, and she wouldn't be able to do that here.

Zipping the bag shut, Lorelai thought about where she could go. Uninvited memories of a summer when she was about nine came to her.

They had spent a month in a cabin by the sea, Lorelai vaguely remembered it. It had belonged to Trix. Which must mean that her dad owned it now. She would go there. The ocean used to calm her and help her think when she was younger, maybe it still would.

Hurrying down the stairs, Lorelai put the bag in the jeep before going back inside the house to leave a note for Luke. She couldn't talk to him right now. She would call Rory from the road to tell her what was going on. She just needed to be anywhere but here.

"_Two months! That's a hell of a long time to go without telling me."_

"_I know I should have told you."_

"_Look, I need to digest this, and you have to get back inside so I'm just gonna go someplace where I can digest this and we will just talk more later, OK?"_

The words echoed in Luke's head, and he wondered what he could have done differently. Except the obvious thing, which would have been to tell Lorelai the moment he found out. But it was too late for that now.

The problem at hand now was to make Lorelai believe that he was sorry, and that he hadn't kept it from her on purpose.

Sighing, he got out of bed. Figuring Lorelai still needed time to 'digest', he had stayed at the apartment. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep, not until he had talked to her. He needed to explain, make her believe him, just needed to... do something.

Deciding that he might as well go over to the house so they could talk first thing in the morning, Luke wandered through the dead streets of Stars Hollow. It was almost two in the morning, and the only one he met on the way to the house was a stray cat.

Turning the doorknob, Luke was surprised to find the house locked. Lorelai never locked the door at night, only when she wasn't home. Using his key, he let himself in and closed the door behind him.

The house was dead silent. Which wasn't a big surprise, seeing as it was the middle of the night. Lorelai would be asleep. But as soon as he stepped over the threshold, Luke knew he was alone in the house. He looked out through the window, and found the driveway empty. He hadn't even noticed that the jeep wasn't there.

Hoping to prove himself wrong, he walked up the stairs and into their bedroom, where the bed mocked him with its un-slept-in appearance. Where was she?

Going back downstairs, he checked the living room, wishing beyond hope that he'd missed her sleeping form on the couch in his hurry to get upstairs. But the couch was as empty as the bed, and slowly Luke realized that she really wasn't there.

Going into the kitchen, he slumped down at the table, staring into thin air. Where could she be? Sookie's? At Yale with Rory? Getting his cell phone out of his pocket, he pressed the speed dial for Lorelai's cell, but paused in mid air, his finger hovering above the 'call' button.

Wherever she was, she wouldn't appreciate being woken up at two thirty in the morning, that he knew for sure. He would just have to wait until morning and call her then.

As he put the phone back in his pocket, his eyes fell on the fridge, and he spotted a white envelope with his name on it pinned to it with a smiley face magnet. He quickly walked over and tore the envelope open.

_Dear Luke_

_By the time you read this I will, hopefully, have left Stars Hollow far behind. I meant what I said outside the diner, I need time to digest this, to figure out... pretty much everything. And I realized I can't do this here, with everyone hovering over me, wondering what I'm going to do and asking questions. So I decided to take a little Stars Hollow free time, so to speak. You if anybody should know how I feel. How many times has this crazy town of ours driven you to the edge of insanity over the years?_

_Anyway, back to the subject. I'm going to a place, possibly the only place, where I was happy as a child. I am going to ask you, and I know this will be hard, to not try to find me or contact me. I am bringing my phone in case of emergency, but please, respect my wishes and don't call me. I need to figure this out on my own, just like you have for the past two months._

_Oops, that sounded a little angry, which it probably should, because I am angry. How could you not tell me, Luke? Remember your little speech about not keeping secrets last year? Whatever happened to that? Or did everything we have together just fly out the window the minute she walked into your life? _

_OK, I am going to end this here before I write something I might regret later. Just one more thing. Please don't pull Rory into this. She knows where I am, and what's going on, and I know she'd tell you where to find me if you ask her, because she'd want to fix everything between us, so please don't. _

_Love, always_

_Lorelai_

_PS. If you could keep an eye on Paul Anka, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, ask Babette to check in on him._

The paper was stained by what he knew was tears, and he re-read the letter two, three, four times before her words finally sunk in.

She wasn't there. She wasn't even in Stars Hollow anymore. He wouldn't be able to talk to her the next day, explain everything and beg her to forgive him, because she didn't want to talk to him. She didn't even want to be in the same town as him.

Dropping the letter on the table, he buried his face in his hands. How had everything gotten this screwed up? No, how had **he **screwed them up so much? As much as he tried to convince himself that the only reason he hadn't told Lorelai was that he hadn't found the right time, he knew that it had been because he'd been afraid of how it would affect their relationship. He was scared that she'd want to call the engagement off, or that she'd want out of the relationship all together. As long as he didn't tell her, he didn't have to find that out for sure, so he kept putting it off.

Of course, that little rational voice somewhere deep down had been saying all along that the longer he waited, the harder it would be when he finally told her. And why would him having a kid that he hadn't known about until recently affect their relationship? He knew that Lorelai wouldn't have a problem with it. Of course things would be a little awkward in the beginning, but it would get better.

But he had let the louder voice, the one telling him to keep it a secret just a little longer, win, because it was easier that way. And now he might have lost her. Not because of April, but because he had lied to her. He couldn't really blame her if she wanted out, after all, he had been the one to insist on 'no secrets', and now he had gone completely against his own words.

She was gone. Gone from Stars Hollow, gone from him. He had no doubt that she'd come back when she had thought everything through and figured out how she felt, but would she come back to him?

Looking around the dark kitchen, he realized that there was no point in sitting there all night. He should at least try to get some sleep, though the thought seemed distant to him right now.

Walking through the empty house, he climbed the stairs and was once again in their bedroom. For a moment, he just stood there, trying to picture her lying in the bed, asleep, but he couldn't.

Sighing, he pulled the covers down and crawled into the bed, not bothering to take his clothes off. Her smell was all over the sheets, and he hugged her pillow close to him, imagining that it was her body and not a life-less piece of fabric. Before he let his eyes close, he looked at the alarm clock3:12. He had already asked Ceasar to open the next day, so he didn't need to set the alarm. But somehow he knew that he'd be up before dawn anyway.

The moment he closed his eyes, images started flashing by. The look on Lorelai's face as she realized who April was, the disbelief and hurt in her eyes. God, how he wished he could erase that look.

Then the image was replaced by others. Her tear-stained face as she drove down a dark higway, a look of terror on her face as she lost control of the car. Her life-less body on the side of the road.

Forcing the images out of his head, Luke opened his eyes. He had to stop imagining the worst case scenario. Lorelai was fine, she had to be. Closing his eyes again, he tried to remember the good things, happy occasions. Her smile at Liz and TJ's wedding, the way her lips had felt against his on the porch of the Dragonfly, their first date at Sniffy's, her parents wedding renewal, the pain in her eyes at Doose's when he'd told her he was out. Somehow he couldn't keep those images away, and he ended up where he had started, on a highway somewhere.

What if something happened, and the last thing they ever did was fight? What if he never saw her again and the last thing he had done was lie to her?

Realizing it was pointless to try to keep the thoughts away; Luke surrendered and let them run free. He finally fell asleep from exhaustion, only to dream of empty highways and carwrecks.

He managed to keep himself from calling Rory until eight thirty, even though he'd been up since five. He had busied himself around the house, fixing some things he'd noticed needed fixing over the past couple of weeks. But he had convinced himself that he couldn't wait too late to call her, either, or she might be in class. So at eight thirty he dialled the number to Rory's cell phone.

"Mmhmm." Her sleepy vice came over the line.

"Oh, God, Rory, I'm sorry to wake you." He said, realizing she had been asleep.

"Luke, hi, it's not a problem, I need to get up soon anyway." She replied, and he could hear that she wasn't surprised to hear from him. As she continued, he realized that Lorelai must have told her that he'd probably call looking for her. "Look, I can't tell you where she is, I promised I wouldn't. I'm sorry."

"No, that's not why I'm calling." He said.

"It's not?" She asked in a surprised voice.

"She doesn't want me to know, and I have to respect that." He explained.

"Oh, OK." Rory was quiet for a moment. "So why did you call?"

"I just... I need to know that she's OK."

"I think I can safely tell you that she will be." Rory replied.

"She got to... wherever she was going OK?" Luke asked.

"Yup, I talked to her last night." Rory confirmed, and Luke sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Rory." He said. "I'll let you get back to sleep. Could you just tell her to call me? I mean, if she wants to talk she can call me whenever."

"I'll tell her that." Rory promised.

"OK, bye."

"Bye, Luke."


	2. Chapter 2

**2 – The end of the world as we know it**

"Good morning, daughter of mine." Lorelai's voice came over the line, sounding surprisingly chipper.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Rory replied. "What's with the happy voice?"

"Why, I can't be happy?" Lorelai asked, sounding offended.

"No, you can, I'm just surprised is all." Rory told her mother. "You sounded anything but happy last night, what changed?"

"Nothing changed, I'm just a really good actress." Lorelai replied, dropping her act. "So, did he call yet?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, a couple of minutes ago." Rory confirmed.

"Wow, took him long enough." Lorelai noted. "I was sure he'd call my cell last night, but nothing."

"Maybe he wanted to give you your space." Rory suggested. "You know, like you asked him to."

"I know I asked him not to call me, but I didn't expect him not to call me."

"Do you want him to call you or not?" Rory asked.

"Yes... no... I don't know." Rory could hear how confused her mother was. "I just don't know what to do anymore, Rory."

"Well, talking to him might be a good start."

"No, I can't talk to him. I need... I need to figure this out by myself, without him or anyone else interfering." Lorelai said.

"OK, but you know I'm here if you need me, right?"

"I know, hon, and I appreciate it."

They were quiet for a moment before Lorelai spoke again.

"He has a kid, Rory." She half whispered.

"I know, but it's not the end of the world." Rory tried to comfort.

"It's the end of the world as we know it."

"You're exaggerating, and stop quoting R.E.M." Rory joked.

"I know it's not the end of the world, I mean I have a kid too." Lorelai continued.

"I was aware of that fact, yes."

"It's not the him having a kid part that I'm mad about, it's the fact that he lied to me, he kept this from me for two months, Rory. Two months!"

"I know he lied to you mom, but try to see it from his point of view too." Rory tried. "I mean, he must have been afraid of how you'd react when he told you, so he took the easy way and just put it off."

"And that was so much better." Lorelai said sarcastically. "What if he just didn't tell me because he figured this thing between us wouldn't last anyway, so why would I need to know his daughter?"

"Mom, this is Luke we're talking about." Rory reminded her. "The Luke who's been in love with you for almost a decade, do you think he'd just give up on your relationship like that?"

"I guess you're right." Lorelai admitted. "But then why didn't he tell me?"

"OK, let's look at it this way." Rory started. "Let's say you find out something that could potentially affect the relationship you have with Luke, something you had absolutely no control over. You would hesitate to tell him, wouldn't you?"

"Well, I guess." Lorelai admitted. "But why would this have to change anything between us?"

"Mom, come on."

"No, I mean, I know it'll change things, but our relationship doesn't have to one of those things." Lorelai explained. "There will just be another person in our lives, but that doesn't change the fact that we love each other and that we're getting married."

"I know that, and you know that, but maybe Luke doesn't." Rory suggested.

"Maybe he thought that you'd reconsider the whole relationship because of this, and he didn't want to lose you."

"You really think he'd think that?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know, it's just a possibility."

"Yeah..." Lorelai said, sounding deep in thought.

"Listen, I've gotta get to class, but call my cell if you need me, OK?" Rory said.

"OK, but I'll be fine." Lorelai assured her. "I think I'll just hang out here a little, get lunch and then maybe drive back."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you gave me a lot to think about, kid."

"Glad to be of service." Rory said before hanging up.

Getting out of bed, she quickly got dressed and found her carkeys. For what was, maybe, the fifth time in her life, Rory had lied to her mother. She didn't have any classes that day, but she sure had something to do.

Luke didn't feel up to facing the good people of Stars Hollow, so he decided to spend the day at Lorelai's house... hopefully soon their house. He called Lane, who agreed to work extra the whole day, and then called the diner to let Caesar know that he wouldn't be in.

He locked the phone in a drawer to keep himself from calling her, knowing he wouldn't be able to contain himself if the thing was right in front of him.

Wanting to keep busy, he started with cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, and then vacuumed the entire downstairs, scaring Paul Anka in the process, causing the poor dog to hide under Rory's bed.

Having put the vacuum away, Luke looked arund for something else to occupy himself with. He was about to do some laundry when he heard the front door open and closed, and rushed through the house.

"Lorelai! I am so sorry, I never should have..." He cut himself off when he found Rory in the hallway, looking apologetic.

"Wrong Lorelai. Hi!" She pulled off her jacket.

"Rory, did you tell me you were coming home today, I must have missed it."

"No, this was a spur of the moment kinda thing." Rory assured him.

"Oh, OK." Luke nodded, and then realized they were standing in the foyer. "Sorry, let's go into the kitchen, I'll make you some coffee."

"No, I've got it." Rory got the coffee out of the fridge and started the coffee maker, then sat down at the table were Luke was already sitting.

"So..." He started, not sure what to talk about.

"So..." Rory repeated. "I talked to mom before, after you called."

"You did? Is she OK? What did she say?"

"Whoa, Luke, hold on there." Rory stopped him. "I talked to mom, and I think she's done with whatever it was that she needed to do, because she said that she'd be home later today."

"She did? Oh, thank God." Luke sighed in relief.

"Now, that doesn't mean that everything's fine." Rory continued.

"I know, we have a lot to talk about." Luke agreed.

"Yes, you do." Rory nodded. "She's really upset about the fact that you lied to her."

"I know, I don't even know why I did it." Luke shook his head. "I was going to tell her the day I found out, but that was the day that the two of you made up, remember?" Rory nodded again.

"And you didn't want to spoil the moment?"

"Exactly. And then, it just got harder and harder the longer I waited." Luke explained. "And I think I was afraid that she'd reconsider the engagement if she found out, that she wouldn't want to marry me anymore."

"That's what I thought too, and I told mom that." Rory said. "But why would you think that?"

"I know it's not rational, but... I don't know." Luke ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I spent so much time loving her from a distance, thinking of her as unattainable, that it still hasn't completely sunk in that she actually wants to be with me. I'm afraid that she'll wake up one day and realize that she's been making a mistake all this time, and that she's never been in love with me, that it was just, I don't know... a fling."

"Oh, Luke." Rory's heart went out to him, just like it did to her mother. Why couldn't those two just realize that they truly loved each other? "Your and mom's relationship is so much more than just a fling. Trust me, I've seen her having flings."

"I know, somewhere I know that." Luke said. "It's just that the insecurity has a way of overshadowing that."

"Tell me about it." Rory agreed. They sat in silence for a few moments before Luke spoke.

"So, why did you come home? Not that I'm not glad to see you."

"I thought you might need a little help." Rory said, a conspiratory look on her face.

"Help with..." Luke wondered.

"Well, now that I've talked to you, I have a very unique perspective into this situation." Rory started. "You didn't tell mom about April, right?" Luke nodded. "You didn't tell her because you were afraid that she'd break the engagement off, and mom thinks that you didn't tell her because you were having second thoughts about getting married."

"What?" Luke asked in astounishment.

"She said that maybe you didn't tell her because you thought that there was no reason for her to even know about your daughter, because you wouldn't be together much longer anyway." Rory revealed.

"She thought that? I made her think that I didn't want to..."

"I guess you both jumped to all kinds of conclusions." Rory summed up.

"So, what did you want to help me with?" Luke asked, still not sure about what Rory meant.

"I thought that maybe you could show mom that this didn't have anything to do with you not wanting to be with her anymore." Rory said. "And then I remembered, that you didn't really get to propose."

"No, your mom did, why?"

"Well, here's what I thought we could do..."


	3. Chapter 3

**3 – June third**

Lorelai stopped the car in front of the diner and got out. She walked inside and was greeted by Lane.

"Hey, Lorelai, what can I get you?" She asked, putting a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of Kirk.

"Actually, I was looking for Luke." Lorelai said, looking around the diner. "And why is Kirk eating eggs and bacon, it's six in the afternoon?"

"He's trying some new, weird diet where you have lunch in the morning, dinner at noon and breakfast at night." Lane explained. "He told me why, but I sorta blocked him out."

"I can see why." Lorelai agreed. "So, Luke?"

"Oh, he's not here." Lane said. "He asked me to work, so he could have the day off or something."

"Oh. OK." Lorelai turned to leave.

"You want some coffee to go?" Lane asked.

"Not now, sweetie, I just wanna get home."

Luke was pacing from the kitchen to the living room, looking out into the front yard everytime he passed a window. Rory had called him, telling him that Lorelai was going to be home at six.

It was now almost six thirty. Where was she?

All the lamps in the house were off, and there were candles everywhere. Rory had helped him bring a table over from the diner and they had set up a small, romantic table in the living room. There was lasagna in the oven, and a cheese cake in the freezer.

The only thing missing was Lorelai.

After Rory had revealed her plan, they had gotten to work. Paul Anka had been banished to Babette's house for the weekend, and Luke had told Caesar that he wouldn't be in the following two days either while Rory had called Sookie and explained that her mother would be MIA for a couple of days. He had talked to Anna, who had agreed that April could spend the weekend with them, and they were picking her up the following morning. Rory would spend the night at Yale, and then join them on the road. Before she had left, Rory had packed a bag for Lorelai, so she wouldn't have to worry about that.

They were spending the weekend in Luke's cabin by a nearby lake, getting to know eachother. Or, more getting to know April.

If only Lorelai would get home.

Just as he was about to call Rory and ask her what was going on, Luke heard a car pull up in the driveway. Pulling the curtain a little to the side, he saw that it was the jeep, and Lorelai was getting out of the car. She stopped a little in her tracks, looking at the house. He assumed it was because it was completely dark, she had probably expected him to be waiting for her. Which he was.

Fingering the small, velvet box in his pocket, Luke watched Lorelai approach the house.

He had already given Lorelai an engagement ring, but he wanted something symbolic to give her as he proposed for real. Rory had helped him pick out the ring, which was plastic, pink, and in the shape of a heart. She had assured him that Lorelai would love it. He only hoped she was right.

As Lorelai unlocked the front door, Luke stepped back so he wasn't visible from the hallway between the kitchen and the living room. He could hear Lorelai close the door behind her, and walking into the house. He saw her stop in the hallway, as she spotted the candles lining the hallway into the living room. He could practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she wondered what was going on and he decided it was time to reveal himself.

"Welcome back." He said, stepping into the hallway.

"Did you do this?" She asked, gesturing to the candles.

"I had some help." He admitted. "But there's more." He stepped aside to reveal the table in the living room.

"Wow." She gave him a half smile. "You didn't have to."

"I think I did." He replied, taking a couple of steps towards her before wrapping his arms around her, hesitant at first. But when she didn't run away, he pulled her closer. "I missed you, and I'm sorry."

"I missed you too, and it's OK." She said, hugging him back before standing up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss, which he deepend for a moment before letting her go.

"It's not OK, but I hope it will be." He said, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I think it will." She nodded, smiling more convincingly. Just as he was leaning forward to give her another kiss, the alarm on the oven went off.

"I guess dinner's ready." He said, saving the kiss for later.

"You made me dinner?" Lorelai asked. "That's sweet."

"And dessert." He added before going into the kitchen to get the lasagna out of the oven.

"By the way, you are going to blow all these candles out later, there's like a million of them." Lorelai called from the living room. Luke just chuckled and made his way back to her.

"I was told it was romantic." He complained.

"Oh, I didn't say it wasn't, I simply stated the fact that I will not be blowing them out." Lorelai replied. "So unless you want the house to burn down, I suggest you do."

"I think that can be arranged." Luke agreed, putting the food onto the table.

"Oh, lasagna, yummy!" Lorelai licked her lips.

"Thought you might like it."

"You thought right."

"So, I think I remember something about desert." Lorelai said later. They had finished the lasagna and Luke was about to clear the table. "I suppose you were talking about food and not something... else." She bashed her eyelashes at him.

"Jeez, Lorelai!" He complained, taking her plate.

"Oh, OK, if you don't want to..."

"I didn't say that." He interrupted her.

"Eager, aren't we?" She was pulling his leg, and he knew it.

"I wasn't the one who suggested it." He replied, walking towards the kitchen with their empty plates.

"But you were thinking it!" She yelled after him. He quickly got the cheese cake and plates and returned to the living room.

"I'm a man, I'm always thinking about it." He told her, cutting the cheese cake and putting two pieces on their plates before sitting down.

"Oh, really?" She wondered, her voice deeper. "Always?"

"Well, you know, not always, but, you know, sometimes, and..." He cut himself off as he felt her foot slide up the inside of his leg.

"How about now?" She asked suggestively. He reluctantly pulled away from her exploring foot, remembering what he was planning to do.

"How about we eat this dessert, and then we can get to the other one?" He suggested, and Lorelai pouted a little. "I made cheese cake."

"Well, I do love cheese cake." She admitted, taking a small bite of the cake. "Mmmm, you've outdone yourself."

"Really?" He tasted his own piece, nodding. "It is good. But I bet mine is better than yours." He looked up at her, seeing the same desire he knew was visible in his eyes in hers as well.

"Oh really? I'll just have to try a piece of yours, then, won't I?" She opened her mouth as he offered her a piece of his cheese cake. She licked her lips, making sure that every crum was inside her mouth. "Also very good. But you have to try mine." She repeated his earlier motion, and he accepted a piece of her cake.

"I think it's a tie." He announced.

"I think you might be right." Lorelai agreed, finishing her cake. "So, onto the next part of the evening..." She was about to stand up, but Luke beet her to it.

"Just a minute, there's more." He said, and she settled back in her chair. Luke cleared the table and took everything into the kitchen before pulling his chair up closer to Lorelai and sitting back down.

"So, I talked to Rory this morning." He revealed, and Lorelai nodded.

"I thought you might have." She replied. "She helped you with this?"

"It was really her idea." Luke admitted. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It doesn't matter whose idea it was." Lorelai shook her head. "This has been an amazing night, Luke."

"I'm glad you liked it." He gave her a quick kiss before continuing. "So, I talked to Rory, and I realized that we have both been afraid of the same thing."

"Really? What's that?"

"Well, when I found out about April, my first impulse was to tell you." He said. "And I was about to, but that was the day Rory came back, and you were so happy, and I didn't want to ruin it."

"That's very thoughtful of you, but you could have told me." Lorelai replied. "It wouldn't have ruined it."

"I know, but I didn't then. So I didn't tell you, and then the time just went by, and it was easier not to bring it up." He continued. **"**Mostly because I was afraid that you would change your mind about getting married**."**

"And I thought that you didn't want to get married anymore because you didn't tell me about April." Lorelai concluded, and Luke nodded.

"We both jumped to conclusions too fast." He said.

"We practically bungy-jumped there." Lorelai joked, and Luke returned her smile.

"I guess we did."

"Listen, Luke, I would never change my mind about getting married." Lorelai said, getting serious again. "Not because of April or anything else that might come our way."

"Me neither." He agreed. "But since I know that actions speak louder than words..." He stood up and took the velvet box from his pocket before getting down on one knee.

"What are you..." Lorelai started, but stopped when Luke looked up at her.

"I have loved you since the day you set foot in the diner almost ten years ago. I never thought that the day would come when I actually got to be with you, love you. But it has, and I don't ever want to go back to the way things were before. So, I'm asking you this. Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you marry me?"

"I would love to." She half whispered back, and he gave her the box. "But you already gave me an engagement ring."

"I know. Just open it."

She let out a small laugh as she opened the velvet box.

"It's pretty." She said, taking the ring in her hand.

"Here." He took the ring from her and placed it on her right ring finger.

"I bet not a lot of people have two engagement rings." She noted.

"I bet not."

"We're getting married." She said, the look on her face similar to the one of children on Christmas Day. He gave her a hard kiss before getting up from the floor, extending a hand to her. "June third?" She took his hand and stood up as well.

"June third."

**The End**


End file.
